


Hospital Visit

by NerdyNostalgia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 11:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21337807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyNostalgia/pseuds/NerdyNostalgia
Summary: Shiro finally visits Keith in the hospital and, having had some realisations, knows he can't let what he's feeling go unsaid anymore. But can he take that risk and tell Keith? Can he bring himself to say the words?
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Kolivan/Krolia (Voltron) implied
Kudos: 43





	Hospital Visit

Shiro stood in front of the door unable to turn the handle and open the door. He had no idea what awaited him on the other side but his nerves were getting the better of him. He took a step back when Matt's earlier words repeated in his head, ‘_We don’t know if he is going to wake up. This may be your last chance to see him if the worst happens_.’

Shiro swallowed loudly as the thought that Keith might die surfaced. He felt his emotions choke him at the thought. He couldn’t imagine life without Keith and now there was a real possibility that that was going to happen. He recalled his speech the day before about rebuilding and hope and it felt hollow when he thought of moving forward without Keith. He took a deep breath and knocked twice before turning the handle and entering.

He wasn’t surprised to find Krolia, Kolivan and Kosmo in the room. He nodded to them, a gesture they returned. He came and stood next to the bed and looked down at Keith. He looked so small in the hospital bed. He had always been smaller than Shiro but his presence had always been larger than life. Now he looked so small that Shiro feared touching him fearing that he would break something. He hated the image because this wasn’t Keith. He was strong, resilient, courageous.

He wanted to ask how he was but couldn’t bring himself to say the words and possibly get a negative answer. He heard movement but didn’t look away from Keith.

“We’ll leave you two alone.” Krolia said as she walked around the bed and squeezed Shiro’s shoulder.

“Thank you.” He whispered, not wanting to disturb the peace and quiet in the room.

He waited until they had left the room before reaching over and brushing Keith’s fringe away from his face. The only noise in the room was the persistent beeping of the machines telling him Keith was alive.

Faced with what had happened to Keith his mind went back over the time they had been on Earth as guilt flooded him.

When he had become Captain of the ATLAS he thought it best if he was impartial and didn’t show favouritism of any kind. He needed to be the neutral middle man to deal with both teams. He thought it would allow him to be objective. But since the Paladins had crashed to Earth he had realised that in trying to be fair and objective he had unintentionally showed favouritism towards the ATLAS crew as he spent little to no time with the Paladins anymore. He had also closed himself off from them and started opening up to the ATLAS crew. While that was a good thing he didn’t want to do it at the expense of his relationships with the Paladins.

Now they were in hospital having nearly sacrificed themselves.

It made his heart stutter at the thought of losing his friends. He was thankful that the others were recovering but Keith was hurt the worst so was taking the longest to heal. His heart felt battered and bruised as he waited for Keith to regain consciousness. But what would he do if Keith didn’t recover?

He couldn’t live with himself if he left things as they were. Initially after hearing of his injuries he had wanted to distance himself even more. He was so scared when the Paladins had fallen that he had barely been able to command properly as his attention had been on recovering the Paladins. He didn’t want anything like that to happen again so had resolved to distance himself further to ensure he could lead properly. If he had been a better leader maybe they wouldn't have been hurt.

But now standing beside Keith’s bed he was thankful that Matt had talked some sense into him. He was glad that the red head had forced him to visit the hospital. As he visited each of the Paladins he felt a weight lift from his shoulders knowing for himself that they were going to be okay. But it came with the guilt as surprise and happiness showed on their faces when they saw him. Had he really been so distant that his own friends were shocked that he would visit them when they were in hospital?

His hands balled into fists and he promised himself that he would be better. He had to be. He couldn’t lose the best friends he’s ever had and he certainly couldn’t lose Keith.

He gingerly moved his human hand and placed it over Keith’s. He linked their fingers together and squeezed. He brought their hands up and placed a kiss on the back of Keith’s hand. There was so much that he wanted to say, to apologise for. 

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Keith’s eyes open. Keith took a few moments to fully wake up and was shocked to find Shiro stood next to him, clutching their joined hands to his chest. How long had Shiro been there? What was he doing?

“Shiro?” He whispered, his voice rough from sleep.

Shiro snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at the bed, “Keith?”

Keith smiled as he gave Shiro’s hand a squeeze, “Hey.”

“Hi.”

Keith took in Shiro’s appearance and it was clear the man was tired. He pulled their hands towards him as an idea came into his head. Shiro mistook it as Keith pulling away and went to let Keith’s hand go but Keith held on. He pulled Shiro closer to the bed and continued pulling. Shiro looked at him confused as he tried to figure out what Keith was doing.

Keith nodded at the bed, “Get on.”

Shiro’s eyebrows snapped up in surprise, “What?”

“Get on. You look exhausted and ready to drop. Can’t have the Captain of the ALTAS collapse in exhaustion on my watch.”

Shiro hesitated for a moment before looking at Keith before sighing and letting go of Keith’s hand. He climbed on and sat on the edge. Keith rolled his eyes and grabbed Shiro’s arm to pull him down. He reluctantly went down and laid on his side to face Keith. Keith remained on his back but turned his head to face Shiro.

“I’m glad you’re awake. You frightened us all for a moment.” Shiro said as he focused his gaze on the window.

“Shiro, what’s wrong?”

Shiro looked down. He both loved and hated how well Keith could read him. He sighed and looked up at Keith.

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Keith was confused. What could Shiro be apologising for? He hadn’t done anything wrong.

“For so much. I haven’t exactly been a good friend recently.” He paused as his eyes fell on the scar on Keith’s cheek, “For this.” He said as he reached up and brushed his fingers lightly over the scar.

“You have nothing to apologise for Shiro. We’re at war. We’ve all been busy and you’ve been learning a new ship. As for the scar that wasn’t you. It was Haggar and she’ll pay for using you like she did. You’re not to blame for any of it.”

Shiro felt a lump in his throat at Keith’s words and looked down. How could one person have such faith in him? How could he deserve someone like Keith?

“It doesn’t excuse the fact that I could’ve spent more time with you and the other Paladins.”

Keith studied Shiro as he took in Shiro’s words. He didn’t know where any of this was coming from.

“What is it you really want to say Shiro?”

Shiro’s eyes snapped up at the question. Did he say what was really on his mind? Could he say it? Would he be able to get the words out? He opened and closed his mouth as he debated saying what he was thinking. Keith waited patiently for him to speak.

He swallowed and let his eyes drop again. He felt a hand on his cheek and looked up at Keith. He felt Keith’s thumb stroke his cheek as Keith smiled at him. He felt his breath catch. The position they were in suddenly felt intimate, very intimate. His eyes fell to Keith’s lips and back up to his eyes. He swallowed again and decided not to second guess himself. Matt had been right earlier, he may never get a chance like this again. Something could happen to one or both of them in the war which meant they lost each other. He leaned forward and he saw Keith’s expression turn to confusion before he pressed his lips to Keith’s.

He pulled away almost instantly, an apology ready on his lips, when Keith followed him and pressed their lips together for a second time. The two pulled apart and stared at each other. Neither could believe that had just happened. Keith looked down at Shiro’s lips again and let his hand fall from Shiro’s cheek to his hand.

“So what was it you wanted to say?” Keith asked.

“Oh, umm, well…” Shiro wasn’t sure he could get the words out despite having just kissed Keith. He took a deep breath, “I-I, umm, I love you.”

“I love you too Shiro. You’re my best friend.”

Shiro sighed and realised that Keith had misunderstood his words. He shook his head and buried it into the pillow as he didn’t want to look at Keith as he was sure he was going to get rejected. He had never been sure about how Keith meant it when he’d said it during the fight at the cloning facility.

“No, I mean I’m, I’m i-in l-love with y-you.”

“Oh.”

Shiro felt himself deflate a little bit. He wanted to apologise and never mention it again. He was sure that with time he could move on.

“Why didn’t say anything sooner?” Keith asked.

Shiro thought about it as he chanced a glance at Keith. Why hadn’t he said anything? Fear, doubt, a lack of confidence that his feelings would be returned to name a few reasons.

“There never seemed to be time. Besides I wasn’t sure how you meant it.” He said instead.

“You remember the fight?” Keith asked, surprised.

Shiro nodded. Keith took in a shuddering breath.

“And you still…?”

“Still?”

“You still love me after that?”

“Why would that change anything? If anything I should be asking you that question.”

“But…”

“But nothing. You did what you had to do. You saved me. You found me again when I was so sure that I put be trapped inside the Black Lion forever. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

Shiro got his hand out from under Keith’s and reached up to cup his cheek. Keith leaned into the contact.

“I’m sorry.” Shiro said.

“You’ve already said that. I still don’t think you have anything to apologise for.” Keith replied.

“I do. I should’ve been spending more time with you. I thought I needed to not show favouritism towards you and the other Paladins. I thought I needed to be objective and instead I just pushed you all away. Now I almost lost you and I never would’ve…”

“But you didn’t lose me. I’m right here. If you really need to hear it, I forgive you. Not that I think I need to forgive you for anything.”

Shiro smiled at Keith shyly as he ran his thumb over Keith’s cheek. Keith smiled back and reached up to pull Shiro’s hand away from his face. He held it above him and placed a kiss on the palm before putting it back down and holding it in his own. He leaned across the small gap between them and hesitated for a second before placing a kiss on Shiro’s lips as well.

“I love you.” Shiro said as Keith pulled away.

“I love you too.”

“Like…”

“Yes Shiro. Like you love me. I’m in love with you too. I have been for a long time.”

Shiro stared at Keith shocked and his mouth fell open at the revelation, “How long?” The words falling from his mouth before he could stop them.

“I’ve always loved you. At first it was admiration then it became a crush but it really grew into more after Kerberos. It’s only grown since then.”

“Keith, all that time…”

Keith shut him up with another kiss, “So does this mean we’re together?”

Shiro grinned, “It does. As long as you’re okay with it.”

Keith nodded and had a grin matching Shiro’s. Shiro then settled in next to Keith feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt lighter than he had in a long time. He knew that he and Keith needed to talk more but that could happen at a later date. Right now he wanted to bask in the fact that the man he loved, loved him back. He was also glad that he hadn’t messed things up between them.

Keith turned away from Shiro looked out of the window to watch the sunset. It also helped to alleviate the ache in his neck from being in one position for too long. As the last rays from the sun faded from the sky he turned back to Shiro to find him fast asleep. He really must have been exhausted. But it gave Keith the opportunity to study Shiro as he slept. He relaxed in his sleep and his features regained a lot of youth and showed his age. He wasn't Takashi Shirogane, responsible Captain of the ATLAS, he was instead Shiro, the 26 year old man. Keith felt a thrill run through him at the fact that Shiro trusted him enough to fall asleep in his presence.

He reached across and tried to smooth out the hair floof on top of Shiro’s head but it just popped back up. He smiled as the hair refused to cooperate and the fact that he was able to do it. He thought back on the kisses and the fact that Shiro not only loved him but had agreed to be with him. It was something that he had never thought possible and now that it was reality he could hardly believe it.

A knock interrupted his thoughts and his mother opened the door and entered, followed closely by Kolivan and Kosmo. The space wolf immediately teleported onto Keith’s legs and made himself comfortable. Keith chuckled quietly as he stroked the wolf’s head.

Krolia quickly noticed the joined hands that lay between her son and the Captain. She raised her eyebrows in question as she looked at Keith. He answered with a smile but didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. It was obvious what was going on. Krolia was happy for her son. It was difficult to find happiness in war and she knew that you had to hold onto it once you found it.

“Sleep now, kit. We’ll talk tomorrow. I have a feeling you have something to tell me.” She said stroking Keith’s hair. Keith smiled and nodded. It couldn’t deny that he was tired. Recovery was exhausting and he had been fighting to stay awake. He didn’t want to wake up and this had all been a dream. But eventually exhaustion won and he fell asleep beside Shiro.

Krolia watched her son sleep and was happy that he was recovering. She knew that he had been worrying about the distance between the two of them recently but she was glad it had worked out for the best.

She felt an arm around her shoulders and turned to face Kolivan. She put her arm around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

“I’m glad they will be okay.” Kolivan said.

“Me too.” She replied.

For the first time in a while the future actually looked bright.

**Author's Note:**

> As for the timing of this. It's the day after Shiro gave his speech so Keith is awake but no-one knows yet.


End file.
